“I have often wondered how people maintain health in this environment without making it a full-time occupation.” Tom Greenfield, May 26 article.

I enjoyed reading Tom Greenfied’s Nature Cure article today, and he expressed some of what I’ve been thinking about lately when it comes to my health. It really does take a lot of work to be healthy today. Yet, it beats the alternative, being an unhealthy couch potato. In fact, once you start down the healthy path, it enables you to go further and further in the right direction. The extra energy, improved outlook, better sleep, all combine to give you more resources to do everything you need to do and to do what it takes to become healthier.

I can’t say that I never complain about it though. It would be nice to just be healthy without thinking about it or going to any extra effort. Yet there is joy in the journey, in discovering that you have more control over your body than you imagined, in finding that you have more potential than you dreamed.

That being said, here’s a nice, simple recipe for eggs:

Non-deviled Eggs

Slice the boiled eggs lengthwise, leave the yolks in place. Drizzle some lemon juice over the yolks, then sprinkle with curry powder (or red pepper powder), add fresh parsley if you have some. Done! Tastes great, it’s easy, and it’s nonnie-compliant! You won’t miss the mayo.

Finally made it out jogging again today. It had been almost a week since jogging last; I've done a few exercise videos, and some resting from a little cold, but I find jogging to work best for me. I can't slack or coast as easily while jogging, as I can with other forms of exercise. So I had to push a stroller, but I got the jogging stroller fixed, so it was easier. Then the walk back up the big hill was a good workout too. I really want a treadmill, then nothing can stop me.

I've had a few questions I've taken too long to answer. So, here it goes: the wheat-free dairy-free fig Newman's (Newman's Own brand) that my son eats can be found at most health food stores. Unfortunately, they do have corn syrup in them, so only type A secretors are allowed them. Also, teff can be found in the grain section of most health food stores. It is a very small dark brown grain.

Today has been difficult, food-wise. My son woke up with a fever, so I haven't spent much time cooking. and I've mainly been eating foods I prepare for him: lentil pilaf, watermelon...but I did cook a leg of lamb and some of that got me through the afternoon. I'm looking forward to a banana. A little late, but it works for me.

So Thursday wasn’t a good day. I don’t remember what I scrounged up for breakfast and lunch, but I had an event I had to bring food to in the evening and never got myself dinner. I had brought plenty of compliant foods (ala Costco), but one non-compliant one, and it was the only one that really seemed like something satisfying in my hungry state. It was spinach artichoke parmesan dip, loaded with dairy, but smelling of garlic. I had too much, and started to feel sick instantly; maybe I was already coming down with something, but this made it worse. The nose started running (I should have been the one running – away), and within 12 hours I noticed my dairy-consumption phenomenon, my throat gets a nasty, but temporary, itch, way down inside. The type of itch that a cough would seem to help, but doesn’t really. It wasn’t worth it. If I only were a B. I can get over the carb cravings after a time, but I’ve never gotten over dairy cravings. Maybe it just takes more time.

Since then, I have had a cold coming on, so I’ve been loading up on herbal teas and trying my culinary hand at making soup. It was my son’s idea, he grabbed a can of lentil soup from the cupboard and insisted on it. I had nothing to go with my free-range ground beef, so I added that to mine. We both enjoyed the lentil soup; so I am impressed by the good ideas in this baby’s head. Today, I had some kale and some more beef to prepare, so I made a soup from the kale, and onions, and broth and beef. I kept the beef out until serving, in case my As wanted some of the soup. I think I’ll keep trying that trick with soup, make a vegetarian base, then add meat to mine. For dinner, I added some organic turkey sausage. It enabled me to finish off the whole bunch of kale (alas my As didn’t try much, but at least they took a taste). It’s quite good with some red pepper added before serving as well (for the Os). I like kale, it’s cleaner and easier to wash than spinach, and it holds it’s crunch, which is good in soup. I find if you’re new to kale, it’s best to chop it up small, that way the texture isn’t as surprising.

I did some gardening today, I’ve been a wimp with the running, due to this cold I have and my joints were all asking for a break. So, yesterday I walked up some hills with the stroller, and today I gardened. The oregano I bought from the garden center has a good deal of mint in it, I’m glad I noticed before I cooked with the mint (I don’t really like mint for cooking). Mint has a square stem, and the leaves were a bit less hairy and more pointy on the tips, than Italian oregano. Of course, smell is the best way to tell, although I can get confused on scent alone. I have been cooking with my herbs, which I’m proud of, in the past I’d forget to use them. Of course, when you’re an O nonnie, you welcome any added variety to your meals, especially the yummy green kind.

The newest Living Without magazine had an interesting article on ADHD and food allergies. The doctor in the article, Dr. Mary Ann Block talks about food allergies and intolerances and their role in ADHD behaviors. The most common offenders in the food category in order of magnitude are listed as: 1. milk 2. wheat, then corn, yeast, orange, soy, peanut, beef and chicken. I thought that list was interesting, as most of the foods listed are major avoids for one or more blood type. My biggest are wheat and corn, they make me irritable and foggy-headed. I’m still learning what milk does to me, but have concluded that it does some pretty mean things as well. My nephew (an O or a was a very terrible toddler until they figured out that peanuts were what made him act out, without peanuts he was a star child. The other thing I thought was interesting about the article is the broad definition of allergy and intolerance, and the fact that the doctor took them all equally seriously. Also the doctor stated that children never really outgrow a food allergy, it just manifests itself in different ways at different stages. So, even though my son may not always get spots on his skin from milk, it may make him irritable, or asthmatic…the possibilities go on. Guess the BTD is here to stay for us! If Dr. Block would review some of the science behind Dr. D’Adamo’s work, it would be interesting to see how blood types factor into the allergy testing she does (she monitors fine motor skills, mood, and more, after exposure to the allergen).

Tuesday was interesting. I did too much running around and not enough eating. Then made the mistake of having 2 oz of wheatgrass juice instead of my usual one. On an empty O stomach, that was a bad idea. From all I can find, wheatgrass juice is good for all types, though pretty potent, so I should have been more careful. I may switch over to a different green drink. Anyway, after how upset my stomach was I thought I could never eat another green thing! I could hardly eat any dinner, but tried to eat some free range, deli roast beef with a salad. Ended up having a banana a little later to keep me going. I finished the beef and salad Wednesday for breakfast after adding some avocado, lime juice and eden shake (from the HFS, toasted nori with sesame seeds, quite good). Fortunately, I’ve overcome my temporary aversion to green things. Yet the last couple days my favorite things are bananas and avocados.

Today I had more deli roast beef rolled up with avocado for breakfast, and a free range sirloin steak for lunch (salt-seared, with onions and fresh parsley). It was a great lunch! I still need to fit in some more fruit or veggies, once my baby takes a nap.

What is wholesome? At it’s root is the word ‘whole’ yet advertisers apply the word wholesome to foods that are anything but whole. Then they use emotions to make you feel like you have to buy their products for your kids to show them you care.

As much as I try to change it, when I see certain processed foods, the first word that comes to mind is “wholesome”. Take the graham cracker, one of those foods everyone (almost everyone) feels good about giving their children. Or that snack that smiles back, or Sugar Snacks-wait, I mean Fruit Snacks… Part of me still thinks of these foods as something every child deserves to eat. Yet they aren’t the best choices, even for a type A baby. Changing my son’s diet is as much about changing my own brainwashing as it is about changing his tastes. Would any loving mother really make her child eat black-eyed peas rather than processed chicken nuggets? Why does part of me feel guilty when I don’t feed him what other moms feed their children? So he likes beans, he likes broccoli, he likes peas…why would he need graham crackers? Part of me feels that he should be entitled to eat all the treats I ate as a kid, or that other kids eat. Yet, I know that one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given is the guidance of the Blood Type Diet for my health, and wouldn’t it be nice to have grown up with some of those healthy habits?

Then there’s the milk. Of course, my son is very allergic to it. (Regrettably, I had lots of milk and yogurt while pregnant and nursing, avoiding it, like I’m supposed to, may have helped; it may have helped if the lactation consultant in the hospital had given him a few drops of soy instead of milk formula while teaching him what to look for) Anyway, I’m never tempted to give him milk, and I never feel guilty about keeping it away from him. Yet, everyone tries milk for their babies first, then if that causes obvious problems for the baby, they switch to soy. I wonder if for As and Os that isn’t backwards. Of course breastmilk is always the first choice, but is milk formula a better second choice than soy formula? Soy bashers may attack me on this one, but I feel that we should feel empowered to make this type of choice, as mothers, without guilt coming into play. Others often feel sorry for my son, that he can’t have milk, like he’s not only missing out on yummy treats that other kids like, but that he’s also missing out on some sort of whole-some-ness that is inherent in milk. Granted for B’s, milk does have wholesomeness and a lot to offer health-wise (especially if it’s from healthy cows free of antibiotics and hormones), but for As and Os it has nothing to offer that we can’t get from other sources, and much to be avoided.

I suppose I’m just having a I-wish-the-whole-world-were-blood-type-enlightened moment.